Mendon Capital Advisors Corp Sells 292,000 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Mendon Capital Advisors Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) by 97.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,000 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 292,000 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp’s holdings in Provident Financial Services were worth $115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,787,088 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $111,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649,643 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Provident Financial Services by 4,245.5% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,996,954 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $56,877,000 after buying an additional 3,904,975 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Provident Financial Services by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,550,462 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $36,599,000 after buying an additional 225,839 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Provident Financial Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,885,897 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $34,003,000 after acquiring an additional 34,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in Provident Financial Services by 125.3% during the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,690,155 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $24,254,000 after acquiring an additional 939,951 shares during the last quarter. 71.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Provident Financial Services

In other Provident Financial Services news, EVP Vito Giannola sold 5,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total value of $99,476.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 88,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,787.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Provident Financial Services from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Provident Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Provident Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.67.

Provident Financial Services Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of Provident Financial Services stock opened at $17.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.22 and its 200-day moving average is $15.99. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.07 and a 12-month high of $19.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 1.04.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The savings and loans company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.39). Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 9.38%. The business had revenue of $141.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. Provident Financial Services’s quarterly revenue was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Provident Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

Provident Financial Services Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.